Classical Numismatic Group, LLC
Auction 117 19-20 May 2021
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WORLD. Italy. Two paintings of the Roman Emperors Vespasian and Titus. Circa 1700. Oil on wood panel, with frames painted in matching reddish hues, each painting 45 X 35.5 cm (18" X 14"), depicting each emperor wreathed and in three-quarter profile, within an oval lunette, their names painted beneath along with the numerals X (for Vespasian) and XI (for Titus). See Sotheby's Auction 3699 (2011), lot 550 for similar paintings of Vespasian and Titus from a lot of 17 Italian School paintings of Roman Emperors. The frames are modern additions, the original panels with minor cracking of pigment in isolated spots, otherwise intact.
From the Collection of a Connoisseur; acquired at TEFAF European Fine Arts Fair, Zurich, early 2000s.
From the Renaissance forward, portrait sets of the Twelve Caesars were a popular subject for European painters. Peter Paul Rubens famously produced such a set in the 1620s, and his work inspired the "Italian school" of painters active from the late 1600s through the early 19th century. The unknown artist who produced these paintings of Vespasian and Titus hewed closely to his vision, depicting the two Emperors in the mold of contemporary Italian grandees.
From the Collection of a Connoisseur; acquired at TEFAF European Fine Arts Fair, Zurich, early 2000s.
From the Renaissance forward, portrait sets of the Twelve Caesars were a popular subject for European painters. Peter Paul Rubens famously produced such a set in the 1620s, and his work inspired the "Italian school" of painters active from the late 1600s through the early 19th century. The unknown artist who produced these paintings of Vespasian and Titus hewed closely to his vision, depicting the two Emperors in the mold of contemporary Italian grandees.